The invention relates to antigens, means and methods for the diagnosis of lymphadenopathy and acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has recently been recognized in several countries. The disease has been reported mainly in homosexual males with multiple partners, and epidemiological studies suggest horizontal transmission by sexual routes as well as by intravenous drug administration, and blood transfusion. The pronounced depression of cellular immunity that occurs in patients with AIDS and the quantitative modifications of subpopulations of their T lymphocytes suggest that T cells or a subset of T cells might be a preferential target for the putative infectious agent. Alternatively, these modifications may result from subsequent infections. The depressed cellular immunity may result in serious opportunistic infections in AIDS patients, many of whom develop Kaposi's sarcoma. However, a picture of persistent multiple lymphadenopathies has also been described in homosexual males and infants who may or may not develop AIDS. The histological aspect of such lymph nodes is that of reactive hyperplasia. Such cases may correspond to an early or a milder form of the disease.